Bradford slings, Saints sting
A.P.’s Minneapolis return a footnote
Sam Bradford started his second season with Minnesota in style, passing for 346 yards and three touchdowns to help the Vikings beat New Orleans 29-19 on Monday, spoiling Adrian Peterson’s first game with the Saints.
Stefon Diggs had seven receptions for 93 yards, two for scores and all in the first half, and Adam Thielen racked up 157 yards on nine catches as Bradford carved up a Saints defence that looked again like one of the worst in the league despite a major renovation. Rookie Dalvin Cook rushed for 127 yards on 22 carries in the formal takeover from Peterson.
“When I’ve got time to sit back there and kind of evaluate things, I’ve got all the confidence in the world that our guys outside are going to win,” Bradford said.
Peterson was limited to 18 yards on six carries, in a time-share with Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara and an afterthought once the Saints fell behind. Drew Brees was quiet too, with 291 yards on 27-for37 passing padded by the late push to catch up.
“We didn’t do anything different or try to out-trick them,” Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr said. “You know, line up and play, do your job.”
Coby Fleener caught the only touchdown toss, after the twominute warning. Will Lutz made four field goals, three under 25 yards.
“The bottom line,” Brees said, “is you’ve got to score touchdowns.”
Brees and Bradford are both in the final year of their contracts, with the same agent, Tom Condon, who is sure to cash in on both clients. Brees has by far the better resume, nine seasons further into his career, but Bradford stole the show on this prime-time stage.
Behind mostly clean pockets created by a remade offensive line, Bradford completed 27 of 32 passes without a turnover. With three rookies and three free agents in the starting lineup, the Saints tried hard to better a defence that has held Brees and company back since their Super Bowl title eight years ago. The first performance left a lot to be desired, with Diggs and Thielen consistently finding favourable matchups underneath.
“I just try to run a route, catch the pass, but Sam, you know, he’s a slinger,” Diggs said.
There were three unnecessary roughness calls in the first half by the Saints. Two of the personal fouls aided a drive that ended with one of three field goals by Kai Forbath, who missed one extra point. The other 15-yarder was on safety Kenny Vaccaro for headhunting Diggs during an acrobatic catch in the closing seconds of the first half. Diggs came right back with another highlight-reel grab to give the Vikings a 16-6 lead at the break.
Cook became the first Vikings rookie running back to start a season opener since Michael Bennett in 2001. Despite trouble hanging onto a couple of passes, he helped salt away the game in the second half. Bradford and Cook were the primary beneficiaries of the work done by an offensive line with four new starters.
“In the building, we felt great about those guys,” Bradford said. “We’ve seen what we’re capable of doing.”